Purpose

This paper aims to empirically test the influence of brand characteristics on brand addiction, as well as the consumers’ behaviors caused by this construct.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopts a Web-based self-completion survey by achieving a total of 529 completed surveys. Then, structural equation modeling has been employed by using SPSS AMOS.

Findings

Results highlighted how the brand characteristics of self-expressiveness, innovativeness and authenticity have a positive influence on brand addiction; brand addiction leads consumers to feel emotions of irritability and to adopt obsessive and compulsive behaviors toward the brand.

Research limitations/implications

Even if the choice of using a survey’s sample composed of students attending an Italian University ensures good internal validity of research (owing to the homogeneous character), the results are not generalizable (except for this population group).

Practical implications

The study identified two different spheres of brand addiction (one connected to the brand’s characteristics and the other to the consumers’ psychological-behavioral outcomes), along with possible strategies firms could adopt to strengthen the possibilities to transform their customers into addicted ones and to avoid/reduce the negative consequences deriving from brand addiction.

Originality/value

The paper provides a response to the call for more studies into the brand addiction analysis by empirically testing possible antecedents and outcomes, thus enriching the existing quantitative research focused on this concept.

中文翻译：

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品牌成瘾：品牌特征和心理结果

目的

本文旨在通过实证检验品牌特征对品牌成瘾的影响，以及由此构成的消费者行为。

设计/方法/方法

本文通过基于Web的自我完成调查，总共完成了529个调查。然后，通过使用SPSS AMOS进行了结构方程建模。

发现

结果突出了自我表现力，创新性和真实性的品牌特征如何对品牌成瘾产生积极影响；品牌成瘾使消费者感到烦躁情绪，并对品牌采取强迫性行为。

研究局限/意义

即使选择使用由就读意大利大学的学生组成的调查样本来确保良好的内部研究有效性（由于具有同质性），其结果也无法推广（该人群除外）。

实际影响

该研究确定了品牌成瘾的两个不同领域（一个与品牌特征相关，另一个与消费者的心理行为结果相关），以及公司可以采取的可能策略，以加强将顾客转变为成瘾者并避免的可能性。 /减少品牌成瘾带来的负面影响。

创意/价值

本文通过对可能的前因和结果进行实证测试，从而回应了对更多研究品牌成瘾分析的号召，从而丰富了围绕这一概念的现有定量研究。